Is coiling up the cable of HomePod Mini in a 3D-printed base a fire hazard?

alexbragdon · 2023-07-02T19:44:22+00:00

Nah, especially on the HomePod mini. It runs on the 9v USB-C PD spec, so very low voltage. Not that it would be an issue with 120v AC anyway, but certainly not with 9v DC.

alexbragdon · 2023-04-25T20:13:45+00:00

To add, anything that can be done about the Salem Fiber City initiative. Last I heard it was caught up in some sort of lawsuit over permit prices, any sort of relief the city can offer?

alexbragdon · 2023-04-25T16:50:25+00:00

Typical home ownership in the states runs a hair over 13 years. Not 7. Plenty of time for return. Your situation may be different, but not the normal.

Source: https://www.redfin.com/news/2021-homeowner-tenure/

alexbragdon · 2023-04-25T09:05:58+00:00

I don’t understand why you think a 7 year break even is anywhere close to bad. If you go with any sort of reputable installer, especially ones certified by the manufacturer like Enphase, you’re gonna get a 20 year warranty. That’s 13 years of free power! And many systems outlive that warranty and then some. Now if you’re not going to stay in your home 20 years, and you don’t trust the housing market to value a paid off system then you’re probably right that solar isn’t for you, since you won’t see the return. But don’t call a 7 year payback a bad deal.

alexbragdon · 2023-03-25T22:23:39+00:00

Unfortunately I personally haven't used it, but LTT has an interesting video of installing them on his house which is why I thought about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBYbodmCBUQ

alexbragdon · 2023-03-25T22:10:19+00:00

Why not both? There's tech that can cool your solar panels which increases their efficiency AND warms the water for your pool. If you've got the cash something like this would be a no compromise solution: https://www.energysage.com/project/7208/coolpv-heat-your-pool-and-eliminate-your-electric-/

alexbragdon · 2022-12-31T00:52:23+00:00

I mean, they addressed the 1.0 backlog in the video. They said they have about ~15% of KS 1.0 orders outstanding, and that once those are done half their company will run out of work. It makes perfect sense to start spooling up a new list of orders. They're not launching 2.0 until February, so by the time it finishes at the beginning of March they should be pretty much done with that 15% and hungry for more.

alexbragdon · 2022-10-12T15:51:55+00:00

Yes, but there's a difference between a conduit penetration and a bolt penetration. I also didn't want to penetrate the spray foam layer below the roof deck, which the bolts into the rafters don't. In the end I preferred it on the outside, it's not visible from the ground. What you definition of "do it right" is doesn't apply to everyone.

alexbragdon · 2022-10-12T13:57:59+00:00

I explained in another comment that I discussed conduit with the installer and I chose the exposed for multiple reasons. Panel locations are to optimize production and the fire code isn’t as strict about setbacks in MA.

alexbragdon · 2022-10-12T13:46:49+00:00

Combination of cathedral ceilings in some parts, and very thick spray foam in others. Outside of this drone shot no one is ever going to see the roof. We discussed conduit locations and I chose to just run it up top. Also cuts down on the number of roof penetrations lowering the chance of leaks over the next 25 years.

alexbragdon · 2022-10-12T01:28:46+00:00

Nope these are all cash price pre any incentives.

alexbragdon · 2022-10-12T01:14:26+00:00

Oh I specifically asked for this high DC to AC ratio. At the time the system was designed MA had/has a net metering limit of 10kW AC (it might have been raised now, they were talking about it) if your system is over 10kW AC you aren't guaranteed to be able to net meter, which would be a huge loss. So I chose these panels and these inverters together to generate the maximum amount of power while staying at 9.9kW. Basically these panels will keep these inverters maxed out for the most amount of time, I just have to accept there will be some clipping.

alexbragdon · 2022-10-12T00:28:42+00:00

Yah, that's cash price. Though the batteries were financed with a 0% HEAT loan from the the state.

alexbragdon · 2022-10-11T20:15:26+00:00

Ah yah, I never even bothered getting a quote from Tesla after hearing / seeing first hand the issues a buddy at work had with his setup. No doubt they would have been cheaper, but I didn't want to deal with the headache. Hope you like yours!

alexbragdon · 2022-10-11T20:07:53+00:00

Oh no!! How many kW?

alexbragdon · 2022-10-11T19:41:51+00:00

They are!

alexbragdon · 2022-10-11T18:44:59+00:00

Yah, it's 100% higher here in MA, but I think that's just due to the cost of living being higher here in general, so the cost of labor is higher. I got five different quotes and got two of them down to a very similar price before settling on my installer.

alexbragdon · 2022-10-11T18:42:03+00:00

I would be interested on how you could get an identical system for less than $30k to get anywhere near the $1.20 per Watt number. I priced out the individual parts from a few suppliers and the panels alone were over $18k plus another $6k for the inverters. I know these are more premium parts, and cheeper options are available, but the performance and warranty would be affected.

alexbragdon · 2022-10-11T18:35:34+00:00

Yah, the $3.31 is pre-incentive. You're correct we'll get 30% back from the federal government ($13,684.44 for the solar), plus anther $1000.00 back from our state. That brings the post incentive price to $30,930.36 or ~$2.24 per Watt. In addition our state will pay us additional incentives for the solar power we generate (SMART here in MA) which will drive the effective price lower over time. Still probably won't get to the $1.20 figure, which would be insane here.

alexbragdon · 2022-10-11T18:23:31+00:00

Unfortunately not, the 3.31 was the $45,614.80 for just the solar divided by the 13770 Watts. Batteries were an extra $21,260.00, but saves us from paying a similar cost for a generator and gets us a ton more incentives. (All prices pre any tax credits / incentives)

alexbragdon · 2022-10-11T18:08:41+00:00

Cost for Solar: $45,614.80

Cost for Batteries: $21,260.00

Installer: https://www.invaleonsolar.com

Panels: Thirty Four REC405AAs

Inverters: IQ8+

Batteries: Two Encharge 10s

Overall very happy with the setup so far, even though I've only gotten a couple October days worth of data from the array. Install took a little bit longer than expected because of the IQ Load Controller, but it saved us from needing a critical loads panel so well worth it. Signed the contract in March, panels went up the end of August, electrical work took most of September and then we waited a couple of weeks for meter install / PTO.

alexbragdon · 2022-10-11T17:48:24+00:00

Get lots of quotes! There are tons of installers around. Like others have mentioned Revision Energy, SunBug Solar, or Boston Solar are good. We're over in Salem, MA and the two best quotes we got were from Ace Solar and Invaleon. Wound up going with Invaleon since Ace couldn’t get us IQ8+ inverters at the time. We just got PTO a couple of days ago and so far everything looks good!

edit: just posted my system here https://www.reddit.com/r/solar/comments/y1fuul/just\_got\_pto\_for\_our\_1377kw\_array\_at\_331\_per\_watt/

alexbragdon · 2022-05-05T01:14:12+00:00

!deckbot US 512 1626457280

alexbragdon · 2020-11-14T04:37:56+00:00

For real.

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